POTATOES with SAUERKRAUT and CRUNCHED SMOKED TURKEY HAM

The part of Slovenia where I come from is called Brkini. This region has that kind of soil that is perfect for harvesting the best potatoes in quantities that last for a year, as well as cabbage that is turned into sauerkraut and stored to last through the winter too.

"Krompir v zevenci" or potato cooked with sauerkraut is a traditional dish that was usually served for dinner in those past days when food was not as abundant as today, and is served today for special occasions as delicacy and a staple of the region. What gives potato in this dish that special "aha"moment is the sauerkraut pickling liquid that kind of hardens the potatoes' outer layer and prevents potatoes from overcooking and mushing. Traditionally hot pig fat with crunched sausage is poured over the top to bring the dish together; but as I don't consume pork I always use olive oil and smoked turkey ham.

Potatoes With Sauerkraut and Crunched Smoked Turkey Ham

WHEN VANILLA MET CHOCOLATE

How to make sure your cake will be moist? The answer is simple, put instant pudding mix into the batter. Yes, it's that simple! All of you have probably seen the ready cake mix with big print "SUPER MOIST- WITH PUDDING in the MIX". And the most wonderful thing about instant pudding mix is that it comes in so many different flavors. What is also so wonderful about instant pudding mix is that they come in all the beautiful colors of rainbow, too. I chose vanilla and chocolate because they are the most popular in our house. But hey, wouldn't  it be great to make a pistachio and banana cake?

Vanilla Met Chocolate Cake

FEELING GOOD, MY NEW BOOK, and NO-BAKE CHEESECAKE

I'm back from Memphis and I'm feeleing WHITE, RED, and BLUE!!!! To celebrate I made some cheesecake, again, but this way the quicker, shortcut way.

I usually do everything the traditional way. But since my life became busy and hectic I'm trying to find ways to make delicious dessert recipes easier and quicker to make. Sometimes there is no way you can skip baking, but with cheesecake it simple- the secret is in INSTANT PUDDING MIX! I found this recipe on eHow Food and adjusted it a bit.
Instant pudding mixes come in so many different flavors, so it is easy to to make the perfect cheesecake for every occasion!

No-Bake Cheesecake My Way

Here are some photos on the way to Memphis:

MY FAVORITE SWEDISH PAIR

I lived two years in Sweden and I can honestly say that except for one savory and one sweet dish, Swedish cuisine didn't make a great impact on me.
Swedish scalloped potatoes and Bullar are those two dishes, one savory and one sweet.
Sweetness of the onions, creaminess of the cream, and starchiness of the potatoes is a perfect flavor combination for me, that is why I felt in love with Swedish scalloped potatoes at the first sight of the dish.Although I regularly bake bullar as everybody in our family enjoys them, I didn't bake the scalloped potatoes in a long long time as the male part of my family is not so fond of cream or milk joining in to a savory dishes.

SPAGETTI IN THE OVEN

Yeya, I won yet another givaway and it's the first day of spring! Thank you Elisabeth @Food and Thrift Finds! Can hardly wait till my book arrives and I can indulge myself into the delicious pages! Thank you again Elisabeth for sharing!

My husband just loves when the spaghetti are all crunched up in the oven. I'm the total opposite, I like my spaghetti smooth and smothered in enormous quantities of yummy sauce (no matter what kind, white, red, pesto...) So I balance, but as I cook It's me who decide which way it will go, bwahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!  I served my pasta with a side of green salad with black beans and some garlic bread.

Spagetti In The Oven

PIZZA DOUGH

We have sun in Nashville now for a few days and it feels amazing!!! I was so happy to see my mint all grown and bright green, and it smell so fragrant and fresh. Yea, I think I can for sure say: "Goodbye winter, sorry but I won't miss you a bit!"  

As I promised, here is my pizza dough. Everybody has favorite pizza topping, we love ours veggie style. This time: broccoli, spinach, mushrooms, onions, dry cured black olives, pizza sauce, and shredded mozzarella cheese.

Pizza Dough My Way

CAULIFLOWER SALAD with TOASTED BREADCRUMBS

This is a simple but very beautiful looking delicious salad. It is prepped ahead (the evening before), so when it's time to serve it, you just need about 10 minutes of cooking time and you can already dig in.

Cauliflower Salad With Toasted Breadcrumbs

PETIT-CHOUER or PROFETIROLES

There is a song about profiteroles: "Profiteroles, exploding taste in your mouth ....." And profiteroles are really delicious flavor bursting delicate bites that everyone just love to indulge. I filled mine with instant pudding and they were wonderful.

   

Petit-Chouer Or Profetiroles

SCRAMBLED OMELET

This was an easy and quick prepared dinner after a busy day. I'm starting to feel little sad for not having enough time anymore to spend as much time in the kitchen as I would like to :(

I made one large scrambled omelet and share it with my daughter, but you can make smaller individual ones.
We enjoyed our scrambled omelet with toasted pita wedgies an dry cured black olives.

Scrambled Omelet

MINT TOPS

Those who read my post about Friday date night saw these cookies. Now it is time to post the recipe. These are delicious, melt in your mouth kind of cookies. The recipe is really simple and I love the dough because it resembles play dough. If you wanna have some fun with kids in the kitchen the possibilities with this dough are endless: color it as you like, let your kids set their imagination free, and bake the sweet creations to show off and indulge! 

Mint Tops

PEACH MELON SMOOTHIE

First a thank you is in order: It is already a week since Zen @RAWk Me! honored me with an award! Official thanks are on my MY AWARDS page! Second, I would like you all to check Angela's blog @This is what I eat. Angela is amazing for reaching all the goals she set for herself. Please do read her latest post Resolution Round Up February; maybe you will be inspired, I surly was!!!

This is a one step glass of simple deliciousness that can be served as a dessert, or breakfast too!
We all love smoothies! This one is a very cold smoothie for those long hot summer days! As far as smoothies go, the possibilities are endless. I usually freeze my fruits, fresh strawberries, bananas, peaches, melons, blueberries, ........, but this time I went with half&half for we are still in the winter! Even those who are not so keen of fruits, will gladly have one of this rolling down into their tummies! And the smoothies are so easy to make, all one needs is a blender and some fruit and some juice.

Peach Melon Smoothie

BUSY WEEK and COLORFUL RICE

Yesterday has been a week since I was on the net! This was one hecktic looooooooooong week! Yesterday, I first checked FoodBuzz and buzzed off all the yummy creations I missed through the week and boy, was there some pretty tasty, wonderful food to admire! Just to mention few that really intrigued my taste buds: Warm and Cheesy Gnochi Salad @Welcome to Sandra's Easy Cooking , Chocolate Panna Cotta @The Cultural Dish , Ceviche @Baking and Cooking, A Tale of Two Loves , Skirt Steak with Stout Pan Sauce @The Cultural Dish , and my personal winner KEY LIME PIE @Cherry Tea Cakes ! Love it!!!

Now about the recipe. We cook rise pretty often (I always choose rice over potatoes), although potato is the most loved starch as far as my family is concerned! They could eat "any way" potato three times a day! Rice as rice, all white on the plate is not that inviting, so I always try to add some color to it: sometimes just by adding a dash of turmeric that will turned it light yellow, or some browned vermicelli pasta to give it some movement, but mostly I add colorful veggies that really bring the rice to life. And as far as the flavor busting, well: "Spices to the rescue!"

Colorful Rice

FRIDAY DATE NIGHT at HOME

My book “Table for Two” by Warren Caterson arrived yesterday. I was so excited while opening the envelope to finally lay my eyes on the recipes. The book is signed by the author which makes it even more special!

So what is “Table for Two” about? As Warren says in the Preface of the book, the idea for the book came from a simple but frequent lament he came across over and over again: “I’d love to cook more, but I don’t know how to cook for only two people.” The recipes are simple to follow and the selection is amazing: from soups to salads, seafood, meat, vegetarian recipes to my two favorite meals: dessert and breakfast. And if you have leftovers in your fridge, no worry, there is a whole chapter dedicated to transforming them into a yummy meal for two! But before the recipes starts, Warren introduces us to cooking terms, ingredients, and a measuring chart.

Yea, for me reading a cookbook equals reading a romance novel!

The idea was born as soon as I saw the cover of the book Table for Two. On the cover there is a couple engaged in a conversation and as it was Friday, date night was making a complete undeniable sense! And so the sinister plan of removing the kids (not so kids anymore, 13 and 17) from the house was born: “Ohh you both look so tired! It was along week and you both worked so hard; studying,   doing homework, bla, bla, bla! I think you deserved a break, would you like to go to movie theater?” And the rest is history! While daddy drove them to the cinema and made sure they bought tickets, snacks, and were safe inside the building, I whipped together a nice dinner for two: white rice, BROCCOLI AU GRATIN (from the book), spicy orange cordials, and for dessert cookies “Mint Toppar” that I baked a day before with a cup of Turkish coffee! Yep, you got to keep romance going on to keep it interesting in a relationship!

Broccoli au Gratin came out super delicious (recipe a total keeper), the side of rice complemented it nicely, and sipping the cordial between bites added a refreshing sense to the atmosphere.

Spicy Orange Coridals For Two

HAPPY VALENTINE'S and SNODDAS CAKE

The love holiday is almost over, but that doesn't mean that we'll forget to share this lovely feeling in the days to come. In Nashville, we had a day filled with warm sunshine, which gave me a special boost after all the snow and cold we had last week. Yes, it was a wonderful day :) I baked this cake yesterday beacuse my daughter wanted to share a special treat with her friends and teachers. I hid two pieces for my husband and me and we enjoyed them with our coffee this morning.

Snoddas

DELICIOUS GINGERBREAD CAKE with ORANGE GLAZE

First, I'm very excited to tell you that I won Table for Two - The Cookbook for Couples: "Hello Mateja, As part of our goal to reach 525 followers, you were randomly chosen to receive a copy of Table for Two - The Cookbook for Couples. Please send me your address and I will send you an autographed copy right away. Thanks for following! Bon Appetit! Warren Caterson" Can hardly wait until the book arrives and I can immerse myself in reading of yumminess! Please do visit Warren's site @Table for Two Cookbooks. The introduction to his blog is spot on : "Table for Two Cookbooks: Presenting a temptingly delicious platter piled high with recipes for two, time-saving kitchen tips, helpful cooking hints, and winsome commentary - all served with a side of garlic-infused humor and a steaming bowl of buffoonery."
My husband is very simple and plain when cakes are in question, so I had to split this cake in half. The plain half is all his to enjoy, while me and the kids are enjoying the glazed half. Originally, the glaze covers only the top of the cake, but as I had plenty of glaze on hand, I just opened the cake and filled it with some glaze too.

Delicious Gingerbread Cake With Orange Glaze